To War 64.

Summer. The Provinces Of Karricaw & Corlinda.

"Over there, and careful how you set them down!" calls out Tovis the war engineer as he looks up at the Farqian transporter that's just arrived at Salmah Forest.
The large triple masted airship is carrying stone blocks that has come from a quarry over in the province of Corlinda.
The young engineer originally from the kingdom of Druvic, who is a captain in the armies of Farque.
Is in charge of the rebuilding throughout the province of Corlinda, and over in the province of Karricaw after things get going more, here in Corlinda.
He's at the site of the castle of Salmah Forest in Karricaw. Which incidentally was destroyed by a warship in the Farqian fleet. During the recent war between the provinces of Karricaw and Corlinda.
The war engineer isn't at all fussed he's not actively involved in the war between lord Gormica of Salmah Forest and the crown.
A war that the mercenary army from the lands Farque is fighting for the lord of Salmah Forest.
The captain in the engineering corp of the first army of Farque knows that he'll be called upon if it's deemed he and the other engineers are needed.
As of yet, they haven't. So they continue to help rebuild the castles, keeps, towns and villages that were destroyed across parts of Karricaw during the recent war between it, and the neighbouring province to the west, the province of Corlinda.
Tovis looks at the foundations of what will be lord Gormica's new castle.
Then he looks away to the nearby village, that's going up much quicker than the castle.
In just a few days, his engineers along with the locals have built more houses, and other buildings the village had before it was burnt down.
The young engineer who previously was the war engineer of a baron Harkonin in the east of the kingdom of Druvic.
Is more proud of what they've achieved with rebuilding the village, than what they've done so far in the rebuilding of lord Gormica's castle.
The captain in the armies of Farque is about to turn to his adjunctant when one of the spellcasters in the engineer's corp hurries over, and quietly tells the war engineer something.
"When?" asks Tovis the war engineer, who then adds "And from where?".
"Soon" is the reply from the sorceress, who then shrugs and adds "Could be from anywhere".
The young engineer originally from the kingdom of Druvic nods, then he looks up into the afternoon sky.
The sky today is fairly cloudy compared to what it's been during the last few weeks here in heart of the province of Karricaw.
And it's noticeably cooler today in comparison to recent days here in the south of the kingdom of Melaurn.
Tovis looks around in all directions at the sky, and wonders where it will show up.
It's his adjunctant who spots it and says "To the southeast".
The war engineer looks that way, and spots up in the cloudy afternoon sky in that direction.
The sparkling lights that indicate a rift. Far larger than one a person would come through.
The sparkling and flashing lights solidify, and a sky rift froms. Out of which flies the krean strikeship. That's the command ship of the Farqian fleet.
As the rift behind it vanishes, the sleek looking mastless krean airship travels the three miles or so to Salmah Forest in no time.
And it quickly sets down not that far from where lord Gormica's castle is being rebuilt.
Tovis along with his adjunct, and the sorceress hurry over to the krean warship that drops smoothly and effortlessly to the ground.
In mid stride, the young engineer originally from the kingdom of Druvic suddenly finds himself onboard the strikeship. In the wheelhouse to be exact.
He comes to a stop, turns, bows and says to the large, heavily armoured figure standing there "My lord".
"Outside" says lord Farque who nods his full helmed head to the nearby open door.
The war engineer follows the undead warlord, with Tovis being careful to keep out of the way of the krean officers and crew in the wheelhouse.
Out on the flat deck of the strikeship, the young engineer steps around the undead wardog Anvil who cracks an eyelid to look at him, before putting his head back down as he lies on the deck.
"How goes things?" asks the heavily armoured deathlord as he gestures at the rebuilding of lord Gormica's castle, and the nearby village.
"Well my lord" is the reply of Tovis the war engineer, who continues with "As is the work on two other castles, and a keep, along with the villages and towns close to them".
The large undead being in the full suit of dark blue, black heavy plate armour, nods.
Then the lord and ruler of the lands Farque looks at the young engineer standing next to him, and tells him "You'll have to let the locals do most of the work over the next little while".
Lord Farque, or Draugadrottin as he's also called by the people of his lands, then says "You and the corp are needed in the war".
The war engineer originally from the kingdom of Druvic, who is now a captain in the armies of Farque nods, and waits for the undead warlord to explain what he wants done.
The lord of the death realm, who has the elven name of Des'tier, which translates to, The Destroyer, says to the young engineer "There's a series of castles in northern Corlinda we didn't destroy in the war between the two provinces".
The undead warlord then adds in a dry tone of voice "Which of course Gormica, and especially his twin brother Wilmot don't want fucked up in the war against the crown".
Tovis nods, and as he watches his adjunctant and the sorceress hurry away, calling out orders that must of got told to them in their minds by one of krean navigators onboard the strikeship.
The heavily armoured deathlord tells him "We'll go now and check out one" followed by "Some of the others in that part of Corlinda will eventually turn up and help to protect the castles".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque gestures at the busy worksites, and says "The corp will be leaving soon, and heading over into Corlinda".
The undead warlord then looks down at the young engineer, who isn't exactly small, as he stands just over six foot in height, and tells him "Unfortunately only one human passenger is safest for traveling on a krean strikeship in a hurry".
Draugadrottin pauses for a moment, before he adds "Well, one human that's alive i should say".
The captain in the engineers corp of the first army of Farque nods in understanding.
Then he follows the large, heavily armoured figure of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
They head below deck, and the lord of the death realm takes Tovis forward.
Passing the crew below, who man, or that should be, krean the magetubes of the strikeship.
The war engineer nods in greeting to the crew. The dragon like krean, who all stand over six foot tall. With one to a magetube. Each of which are suspended in air by clever design work.
That has the magetubes, the heaviest weighing well over fifteen hundred pounds.
Needing just the one crew to operate it. When on any non krean warship. A single magetube needs at least four air sailors minimum, to operate.
The crew all bow to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque as he passes by them.
Des'tier leads the young engineer to one of the below deck officers, the junior one.
And after the undead lord speaks to the junior officer in the krean language.
The lord of the death realm turns to Tovis and says to him in elven "Come up to the wheelhouse after we've gone through".
"Yes my lord" says the war engineer, who turns to the junior officer once the heavily armoured deathlord heads back the way they've come from.
"Have you gone through a sky rift before captain Tovis?" asks the junior officer.
"I haven't" replies the Druvician war engineer.
That answer illicits a buzz of conversation from the nearby crew in their own language. And the young engineer is pretty certain they've started betting as some yell, and call out to one another.
Tovis looks at the junior officer, who he sees a wry looking smile upon the dragon like features of the krean, who tells him "Don't worry, it's not as bad as people say".
The junior officer pauses, before he continues on with "At least it's not a quick dive".
Which garners laughter from the nearby crew. Causing Tovis to think, he never wants to go through a quick dive, whatever that is.
The junior officer shows the war engineer what the krean call the dummy seat.
A seat built into the hull of the krean strikeship. Which has harnesses and webbing like strapping, to hold it's occupant in.
And though Tovis stands just over six foot tall, and is just over two hundred pounds in weight.
He easily fits into the dummy seat, strapped in tightly so that he can barely move.
"Nice and tight captain?" asks the junior officer to the young engineer originally from the kingdom of Druvic.
"I am" replies the officer in the engineer's corp in the first army of Farque.
Then the senior below deck officer, one of the ship's navigators, calls out a command.
"My advice is to hold as tightly as possible captain Tovis" quietly says the junior officer.
"And tighten all your muscles as we go through" adds the junior below deck officer.
The war engineer just nods, and wonders why the hell he's here, doing this.
He's flown on krean strikeships, and the even faster scoutships before. But he's always flown, what is called straight. He's never gone through a ship rift before.
After the junior officer, basically gives him a pat of encouragement on the right shoulder.
The young engineer looks to where the navigator is standing. Next to whom, is the senior bosun of the below deck crew.
Who calls out something in the krean language. He sees Tovis in the dummy seat, and out deference to the war engineer, he switches to the elven language.
The language predominantly spoken by the soldiers and others in the armies of Farque.
For the simple reason that the enemy, whoever the enemy is. Usually human, are less likely to understand them if they're overheard.
"Ready for ship rift!" calls out the senior bosun, who is watching the navigator beside him.
Tovis suddenly feels the krean warship accelerate at speed after lifting off the ground.
"Ten!" calls out the senior bosun as he begins the countdown.
When the senior bosun gets down to five, the captain in the engineer's corp is gritting his teeth, and holding onto the harness and webbing that's holding him into the dummy seat.
When the senior bosun calls out "Three!". All of the crew, if they aren't already, are flapping their wings to keep afloat here below deck on their strikeship.
Tovis, who is just thinking that's a highly efficient method to not feel the force of the tremendous acceleration of the krean warship.
Is suddenly pushed back into the dummy seat. So he clenches his muscles tightly and makes sure to breathe as the senior bosun shouts out "One!".
The young engineer originally from the kingdom of Druvic closes his eyes.
Knowing that there's a sky rift somewhere infront of the krean strikeship that's the command ship of the Farqian fleet.
Tovis gasps as he's suddenly thrust forwards, then sideways in the dummy seat as he continues to hold onto the harness and webbing as tightly as possible.
The war engineer who thinks he's going to black out for a moment or two.
Suddenly breathes a sigh of relief as he feels the sleek looking, mastless krean vessel slowing down. And he realises the strikeship has gone through the sky, or ship's rift as it's sometimes called.
Which the krean navigators onboard has just cast. Enabling the command ship of the Farqian fleet to travel nearly a hundred and eighty miles to the west, into the province of Corlinda in just mere moments.
Tovis who for a moment thought he was going to throw up as they went through the sky rift, says "Thanks".
As the junior officer helps to take off the harnesses and webbing holding the young engineer into the dummy seat.
The captain in the armies of Farque wryly smiles as some of the nearby crew, laugh and joke good naturedly with their fellow crew members who hand over coins to them.
Tovis stands up, he's a little unsteady for a brief moment, then nods as the junior below deck officer tells him "The lord is waiting for you captain".
The war engineer who hails from the kingdom of Druvic heads aft, nodding to the navigator and the senior bosun as he goes by them, who nod in reply.
The young engineer gets to the nearest ladder, and makes his way up the steps to the deck of the command ship of the Farqian fleet.
Tovis heads along the flat, mastless deck of the krean warship, to the wheelhouse that's aft.
The war engineer looks over his shoulder, in the direction the krean airship is going, and he spots a castle in the distance, which he assumes is their destination.
The captain of the engineers corp in the first army of Farque steps around the massive bulk of Anvil the undead wardog, and enters the wheelhouse through the starboard side door.
Tovis sees lord Farque at what can only be called a map table. Though on the table isn't any maps at the moment.
On it is a moving image, it's showing what a viewing spell cast by one of the three krean navigators onboard the strikeship is watching.
The undead warlord who is standing with the captain of the krean warship, and the senior navigator. Nods for the war engineer to join them.
After the lord of the death realm introduces the human officer to the ship's captain and the senior navigator.
The heavily armoured deathlord points at the moving image on the map table.
Tovis looks at what the viewing spell is showing, and nods when lord Farque says to him "What do you think?".
After a few moments of looking carefully at what the viewing spell is showing.
The captain in the engineers corp of the first army of Farque says "Well" then gives his opinion on what they're watching . . . . . .